The Power Rule

and other
Rules for Differentiation
Mr. Miehl
miehlm@tesd.net
 Rules for Differentiation
Taking the derivative by using the definition is a lot of work.

Perhaps there is an easy way to find the derivative.

 Objective
 Todifferentiate functions using the
power rule, constant rule, constant
multiple rule, and sum and difference
rules.
 The Derivative is …
 Used to find the “slope” of a function at a point.

 Used to find the “slope of the tangent line” to

the graph of a function at a point.

 Used to find the “instantaneous rate of change”

of a function at a point.

 Computed by finding the limit of the difference

quotient as ∆x approaches 0. (Limit Definition)
 Notations for the
Derivative of a Function
f '( x) “f prime of x”

y' “y prime”

dy
“the derivative of y with respect to x”
dx
dy
is a noun.
dx
d
is a verb. “Take the derivative with respect to x…”
dx
 Rules for Differentiation
 Differentiation
is the process of
computing the derivative of a
function.

You may be asked to:

 Differentiate.

 Derive.

 Find the derivative of…

 Video Clip from
Calculus-Help.com
The Power Rule
 Rules for Differentiation
 Working with the definition of the
derivative is important because it
helps you really understand what the
derivative means.
 The Power Rule
d N
[ x ]  Nx N 1 , N is any real number
dx

d
[ x]  1
dx
 The Constant Rule
d
[c]  0, c is a constant
dx

 The derivative of a constant function

is zero.
 The Constant Multiple Rule
d
[c  f ( x) ]  c  f '( x)  , c is a constant
dx

 Thederivative of a constant times a

function is equal to the constant
times the derivative of the function.
The Sum and Difference Rules

d
[ f ( x)  g ( x)]  f '( x)  g '( x)
dx
The derivative of a sum is the sum of the derivatives.

d
[ f ( x)  g ( x)]  f '( x)  g '( x)
dx
The derivative of a difference is the difference of the derivatives.
 Constant Rule
 Find the derivative of:
f ( x)  7
f '( x)  0

y  3
dy
0 or y '  0
dx
 Power Rule
 Differentiate:

f ( x)  x3 g ( x)  x100
f '( x)  3 x 2
g '( x)  100 x 99

y  x9
dy
 9x 8

dx
 Constant Multiple Rule
 Find the derivative of:
1
y  2x 3

dy
 2 1
3 x
 23

dx
dy 2
 2
dx 3 x 3
 Constant Multiple Rule
 Find the derivative of:
4x2 4 2
f ( x)   x
5 5
f '( x)  54  2x 

8
f '( x)  x
5
 Constant Multiple Rule
 Find the derivative of:
g ( x)  5 x 7

g '( x)  35 x 6
Rewriting Before Differentiating
Function Rewrite Differentiate Simplify

5 5 5 15
f ( x)  f ( x )  x 3 f '( x )  ( 3 x 4 ) f '( x )   4
2 x3 2 2 2x
Rewriting Before Differentiating
Function Rewrite Differentiate Simplify

7 7 2 7 14
g( x )  g( x )  x g '( x )  (2 x ) g '( x )  x
3 x 2 3 3 3
Rewriting Before Differentiating
Function Rewrite Differentiate Simplify

1 1  12 1
h( x )  x h( x )  x 2 h '( x )  x h '( x )  1
2 2x 2
Rewriting Before Differentiating
Function Rewrite Differentiate Simplify

1
j( x )  2
1 2x
3
1  2 53  1
j( x )  j '( x )    x  j '( x )   5
3
2 x 2
2 3  3x 3
1 2
j( x )  x 3
2
 Sum & Difference Rules
 Differentiate:

f ( x)  5 x 2  7 x  6
f '( x)  10x 7

g ( x)  4 x 6  3x 5  10 x 2  5 x  16
g '( x)  24x5 15x 4 20x 5
 Conclusion
 Notations for the derivative:
f '( x) dy
y'
dx
 The derivative of a constant is zero.
 To find the derivative of f (x) = xN
1. Pull a copy of the exponent out in
front of the term.
2. Subtract one from the exponent.